Paul ordered Kings Garden take away food last night. It's something that we often do in the Welch home. I hate to cook. This blog is not about me preparing food! As I chowed down on the Chop Suey, ate my fill and popped open my fortune cookie, my soy sauced lips formed a wry little smile. My fortune read as follows:
"You will soon be crossing the great waters"
Hmm! Had the wise prophet hacked into my American Airlines account? Today is Saturday, August 15th and on Monday August 17th I will be jetting my way to the old country: England.
I had thought about a blog for months, perhaps for a year. Time is blurry these days. But that random slip of paper, a fortune with surprising synchronicity, urged me to put that thought into action. Start the darned blog it nagged me! I'm not even intellectually sure what starting a blog has to do with me crossing great waters, but perhaps after the trip to England there will be something more meaningful to write about.
So here I am typing at my keyboard when I should be frantically shopping for last minute items, like purse size tissue packs and ridiculously small and expensive containers of shampoo, conditioner, floss and toothpaste. But I feel compelled to continue.
My blog, Welch on Rice has absolutely nothing to do with food. And yes, I did see Julie and Julia, and yes, it was hilarious and entertaining, and yes, it did inspire me to begin this blog. But my reasons have less to do with saving me and more to do with saving an incredible woman's place in history from disappearing forever: master architect Lilian J. Rice. This blog will document Rice's story as well as many of the people, places and events that are woven into it, and will pull in the threads of my own life as a professional writer and mother of four, as the life of Rice and the life of Welch intersect.
Unlike Julie Powell I already have a major book deal. The first book ever written about the life and work of Lilian J. Rice, penned by yours truly, will release spring 2010, by Schiffer Publishing. The work of Lilian Rice, structures built in Southern California in the 1920s and 30s, have been documented and beautifully photographed and comprise over 400 images in the book. I have naturally included Rice's biography which reads like a novel. So not wanting to spoil the book, my blog will retell how I got to this point, why I am compelled to do what I do, and why Rice is important in history. Readers will find her story and mine inspirational.
So, got to go and shop for stuff. Take out pizza for dinner tonight!
